Iraq reviews plan to export electricity to Europe in winter

Iraq's Electricity Ministry proposed the possibility of extending two 400 kV transmission
power lines carrying 400 kV to serve isolated areas in the province of Basra as
a first stage and to be able to purchase energy from the Gulf market.

This came according to a document issued by the
Ministry of Electricity to the cabinet concerning the work of the committee formed to implement the main
joint work plan for cooperation between Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council member
states.

The ministry also called for using these two lines to link
the Iraqi system with that of the Gulf States, in order to be consequently linked
to Turkey and then to Europe. The statement said that the aim of such a system
is to exchange energy between the Gulf states and Iraq, and then Turkey and
Europe.

The document added that this method enables Europe to
import electricity from the Gulf states and Iraq in the winter.

Although Iraq is ranked as the world's fourth largest oil producer, it is
suffering a power crisis. Last summer was challenging, with high temperatures
and power cuts.

During the summer,
the Iraqi provinces suffered about 12 hours of power cuts.

Iraq produces 15.7
gigawatts of electricity, while 23 gigawatts are required to ensure power is
not cut off, which is likely to rise due to continuous increase in demand.

Shortage of gas
supplies makes the matter worse. This has been caused as a side effect of the
counter-terrorism operations.